Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the minister representing the Minister for Higher Education, Senator Payne. Considering that today your government released its higher education bill, which if passed would mean that the size of a parent's bank balance will determine a young person's opportunity to study and learn at our public universities, can you confirm if there is a single new student who otherwise would not have enrolled in a bachelor degree at a private higher education provider who will take up their studies as a result of the government's proposed funding changes that were introduced into the House this morning? Can you guarantee that there will be one new student?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Rhiannon for her question. I did not quite get the end of the question that Senator Rhiannon asked, but what I can absolutely guarantee to the Senate and Senator Rhiannon is that if the Senate is minded to support the legislation—as the House of Representatives has done and as groups like Universities Australia have encouraged the Senate to do just today, albeit with some amendments—then there will be chances for significantly larger numbers of young Australians to take part in higher education in this country.

For the first time, there will be Commonwealth funding for sub-bachelor places in private institutions and for diplomas, associate diplomas and so on. For first time ever we will open up those pathways to increase and encourage greater participation for Australian students. We will provide more choice. We will follow on from the opening up of the demand-driven approach that the previous government adopted to make it demand driven across the entire sector. That is a glaring gap that has been commented on in several reports.

Those changes will enable significantly larger numbers of students to participate in higher education in this country. It will give them more choice, it will give them more opportunity and it will give universities a chance to really showcase the sorts of things that they can do through the Commonwealth scholarship scheme, which will also enable larger numbers of students—particularly those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds—to attend our higher education institutions. All of that, as part of this reform package, will bring to Australia's young people, those wishing to study and those who may not otherwise have been able to go to university before the opportunity to follow that path, to follow it across Australia and to follow it with far greater opportunity and choice.

Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. To repeat my question: can you guarantee that there will be one new student who would not have enrolled in a bachelor degree at a private higher education provider? Is it not the case that your policy will deliver half a billion dollars' worth of public subsidies to private, for-profit providers without being able to guarantee any extra student enrolments?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think that is Greens mathematics!

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think I agree with my colleague, Senator Cormann. I think that may be a version of Greens mathematics with which I am not familiar! What I can actually indicate to the Senate is that for the first time students who wish to take up opportunities in organisations, including private institutions, will have Commonwealth-funded opportunities and support to do that. We actually think an expansion to perhaps an extra 80,000 students by 2018 is an extraordinary opportunity for those wishing to take up study.

It may be through a diploma, an associate diploma or another sub-bachelor qualification; but that diversity, that choice, that opportunity and that support from the Commonwealth has not previously been available to those students. We intend to change that. We intend to make sure that students who might not otherwise have had the chance to study in higher education can now do that, no matter where they come from—whether it is lower socioeconomic areas or elsewhere. (Time expired)

Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. How do you justify the government's assertion that student debt is a dominant influence on an individual's decision about university enrolment, when the research you quote on this was undertaken in 1999? Does the fact that this data is more than 15 years old and all the data you can find highlight that under your skyrocketing fee regime young people could well be deterred from going to university?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not sure that the premise of Senator Rhiannon's question is something with which I agree. What will happen under deregulation is that universities and other higher education institutions will compete for students. That sort of competition is going to prevent exorbitant fees. We believe that higher education institutions are best placed to determine how to maintain and promote a world-class higher education system. So, from 2016, institutions will be responsible for setting their own levels of student contributions. Frankly, when universities compete for students, students win. They win in terms of the range of courses that offered, they win in terms of the quality of teaching, they win in terms of the quality and diversity of student support they receive and they win in terms of value for money. We can be confident that some fees will go down because we are providing Commonwealth supported places for many courses which were not previously supported. (Time expired)